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Sunday, January 24, 2010

The challenges facing our schools in Prince George are stunning. With demographic change, declining enrollment, transfer of provincial burdens, and spending of money on new school construction and facelifts, we are short $7 million. Sadly, there will be layoffs and cutbacks throughout the district. Shrinking schools, many of which are below 30% capacity, face "right-sizing" (as the superintendent put it). Rural students will face long commutes in exchange for a sustainable school with a range of services and programs. I completely get this; the district, due to past decisions and current economic crunches, has to cut programs that are not sustainable and look for ways to trim the fat off its self-admittedly top-heavy infrastructure (p 41 of the Sustainability Report).

The part that confuses me is why viable and successful programs have to be eliminated at the same time.

We have four successful dual-track French immersion schools in Prince George (English and French classes side-by-side). We've enrolled our daughter in one of these so she could learn French and reflect our vision of what it means to be an inclusive English Canadian in a bilingual nation scarred by separatism and racism. We have to drive her there (10 minutes each way), but it’s a school grounded in and reflective of its neighbourhood, the kind of place where English and French have a legacy of mutual understanding reinforced from kindergarten to Grade 7. We are very proud of our school and want to be involved with the school's success.

The district is proposing the idea of a segregated school where all the French Immersion students in our district would attend, no other options. The intended school needs expensive and extensive renovations to be ready for this, and the timeline is set for September 2010 (allowing two summer months for renos). It will likely require portables to house 650 students (it was designed for 450) or they'll simply have to cap enrollment. Families with one child suited for immersion and another not ready for it will now face the choice of sending siblings to two schools, or withdrawing one from the immersion program. This is segregation and it does not appeal to us on many levels.

Integrated French immersion is something our district does well and should continue to support. It needs tweaking, not dismantling. There are many alternatives to segregation (my wife and I have figured out at least 6!) that would save more money and keep one our district's success stories intact. I really hope the elected school trustees take French segregation off the table and focus on areas of decline, largesse, and mitigating the cutbacks on affected communities.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Further evidence that we have a vacuum in leadership, this latest move by Harper is not just a slap on democracy, it's a slap on our intelligence. Harper is banking on voter apathy and Canadians being cynical about what happens in Parliament. What an amazing leadership style -- count on apathy, push aside the democratic structures that normally keep governments accountable and press on with new propaganda.

Olympics, yeah right. Mulroney managed to run parliament during the 1988 Calgary Olympics... they took a one-week scheduled break so the politicians could attend events, and then back to business. This one is different -- the prorogue means all gov't legislation is dead, all committees (and accountability) are suspended, and the gov't can disregard the parliamentary order to turn over documents related to Afghan detainees.

Here's a nice quote on the subject of prorogation: “It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they decided to prorogue Parliament... I’m sorry if I sound a little cynical. This is a government (for which) the rules of engagement don’t apply. They’ll move the goal post, change the boundaries and bribe the referee.”